Once Upon A December
by DaQiao17
Summary: Seminormal high school life, has some supernatural stuff and ninjas. Christmas is getting close and the Naruto characters are spending it together along with some other friends. Fourshot fic. NarutoxOC, GaaraxOC. R&R please.
1. Chapter I: Invite

**DaQiao17: This is my first oneshot, ETP's the one who got me into it. Same with SF4E.**

**Eidolon Twilight Princess: What?! I like writing oneshots.**

**Syrus Fanatic 4-Ever: (rubs back of head sheepishly) I guess I do go a little overboard sometimes. **

**DQ17: (raises eyebrow) A **_**little **_**overboard.**

**SF4E: Okay a lot!!**

**ETP: DQ17 doesn't own any of the characters of Naruto just her own and this plot. She also has permission from SF4E to use Antaria and Tyler, Emblem Master to use Cameron, and ETP to use Emerald. Her friends own themselves.**

**Once Upon A December**

It was a cold and bitter morning in Konoha. Citizens dreaded to step outside their warm and toasty homes. Many didn't want to risk frostbite but life goes on even though many wish it didn't sometimes. As people headed out of their homes they stuffed themselves into coats and scarves, pulling mittens or gloves on their already frozen fingers and hats and toboggans onto their heads. One of the people walking the streets was a girl of seventeen. Her name was Sherry Jackson.

Sherry had shoulder-length, curly dark brown hair and hazel eyes with a pair of rectangular framed glasses on her nose. Like all the other people passing her she wore a thick jacket with gloves and hat. Sherry was heading to school even tough there were six inches of snow on the ground but a lot of snow was common in Konoha so the citizens are used to it and don't cancel unless there's absolutely no way to get to the school. As Sherry was walking down the street she was suddenly tackled by an orange blur.

"Sher-chan!!!" cried the hyperactive blonde now sitting on top of Sherry. His piercing bright blue eyes were laughing. The most peculiar feature of the seventeen-year-old blonde was the whisker marks on his cheeks, which made deep grooves in his skin when he was extremely angry.

Sherry smiled warmly, "Hey, Naruto. Can you let me up now?"

"Hehehehe," Naruto laughed sheepishly, a hand behind his head while the other was helping Sherry up. "Sorry Sherry. Where are Elijah and Ronan?"

"They had to go in early for a Governor's Cup meeting." Sherry brushed the snow from her clothes as the two teens continued to the school. They could see the school just ahead through the dense snow falling. "How was your Thanksgiving break?" She watched Naruto's expression carefully for he was known to hide the truth from his friends.

A shadow passed over his face before he looked at Sherry with a serious look in his eyes, which was so unlike him. "It was lonely but I didn't spend my entire break alone. Iruka-sensei invited me to have thanksgiving dinner with him. It was a lot of fun." He glanced away, a sad expression on his face. "My break was fun Sher, stop worrying about me so-" He was suddenly enveloped in a warm hug from the brunette girl. "Sher?"

"Naruto…" Sherry whispered sadly, her face buried within the folds of his jacket. Naruto wrapped his arms around. "Naruto…if you were lonely, all you had to do was come over to my house. We would have welcomed you with open arms. Because you're so stubborn you always end up all alone during holidays. Don't you know we worry about you?" Naruto closed his eyes as if he was pain. The last thing he wanted to do was worry the one girl, who was like a sister to him, to death.

"Sher, you should know by now that I can ta-" a fist slamming into his right cheek suddenly caught him off. Naruto was propelled backward and fell into a deep hole in the snow beside the sidewalk. "What the hell!! What'd you do that for, Sher?" Naruto looked up into the pissed off face of Sherry. Naruto swallowed nervously, a pissed off Sherry was the scariest sight he had ever seen. Even scarier than the first time he had met the fox sealed within him.

Sherry glared at the blonde boy. "Don't you dare brush off the fact that you're lonely!! If you would just open your eyes a little, you idiot, maybe you would see that you have friends that would do anything for you!! Just so they can actually see you truly happy!!" She turned away from Naruto, a look of shock on his face.

Naruto reached a hand to grab her elbow, "Sher, don't be mad. I'll make it up to you, I'll do anything." She whipped back around suddenly, smacking his hand away.

"You said you would do anything, right?" Sherry asked a glint in her eyes. When the blonde nodded cautiously, she smiled, "Great then you'll be going to our cabin with us for Christmas." She then proceeded to walk down the sidewalk towards her school as if she hadn't just punched Naruto in the face and practically ordered him to spend Christmas break with her and her family.

Naruto sat there for a few seconds, still processing what had just been said. Then it hit him.

"EEEEEEHHHHHHH!!!!"

Later, 1st Period

"But Sherry," Naruto whined, he had his head lying on Sherry's desk as she sat in front of him reading. "I can't spend Christmas with you and your family. It's just not right."

Sherry looked up from her book, "How is that? None of the others have any problems with it."

Naruto sighed agitatedly, "Because, you're supposed to spend it with your fam- what do you mean the others don't have any problems with it?"

Sherry also sighed in agitation, "I've invited the others already to come with me and my family to our winter cabin. Everyone said yes. I was trying to figure out a way to get you to come when you offered to do anything to gain my forgiveness. It was perfect timing."

"What were you gonna do to get me to come before that?"

An evil smile crept across the brunette girl's mouth, "I was going to put the picture of you in a bunny suit on my Myspace if you weren't going to come."

Naruto gaped at her, "How the heck did you get that picture? I thought I burned them all!!!"

"You missed one."

"Where is it now?"

"Tucked away safely."

Naruto sighed in relief, "Thank god." Then he remembered what Sherry said. "Just who exactly did you invite?" He had mischievous look on his face.

"Lets see, I invited Sakura, Sasuke, Hinata and her cousin, Rock Lee, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Shino, Kiba, and a lot more that I don't feel like naming right now." Sherry went back to reading her book, she was rereading the Harry Potter series and was on _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ and she had just started rereading three days ago.

Naruto leaned over the desk to peer at Sherry's face to confirm whether his eyes were playing tricks on him of if Sherry was blushing. Though it may be common for Sherry to blush, it was usually when she was thinking about a certain red-head that she blushed so red that her face could be mistaken for a tomato, which was the color of her face at the moment. Naruto grinned widely, "You asked _him_ didn't you, Sher." It was more of a statement than a question.

Sherry's head shot up, her intensifying, "I-I…um...uh..." She looked down again, her eyes looking left and right as if making sure no one was paying attention to them before she gave a quick, "Yes."

Naruto's face broke out into a grin, "I KNEW IT!!!" This effectively brought the attention of everyone in the classroom, even the ones that were just arriving. Among the group arriving at that exact moment stood the redhead that the two teens had been speaking of, Gaara Subaku, Kazekage of the Village Hidden in the Sand. Or at least he will be when he finishes school on this May.

Sherry looked absolutely murderous when everyone's gaze fell upon her and her loud-mouthed friend. _"Na-ru-to!!!!"_ And she proceeded to chase the hyperactive blonde all over the classroom.

Naruto ran; panicked expressions on his face, as he jumped over desks and skidded around his fellow classmates, just to avoid the angry punches of his brunette friend. During this whole scene Naruto was heard exclaiming, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," over and over.

A girl with elbow-length raven hair that was slightly bushy and had violet highlights sighed. Barely reaching 5'4", she was a year younger than the rest of the students. She blinked her dark forest green eyes as she took in the scene before. The girl exhaled loudly drawing the attention of the students standing in slightly in front of the door. "What did he do now?" She all but growled; a slight Irish accent in her voice.

A boy with side spiky light silver hair and dark purple eyes replied. He was small for his age of seventeen, only about the height of 5'3". "Dunno, we came when Naruto yelled something that sounded like 'I knew it', Ani." the small boy answered in a strange accent that sound like Greek but not.

Antaria Miyazaki looked over at the two running teens, Naruto had just jumped over Hinata's desk, (which she was currently sitting at) and Sherry tried to help the pale-eyed girl, when she suddenly fell over from her desk in surprise.

She sighed but it sounded more like a growl, "They're giving me a headache."

"Those two are so troublesome," came the lazy tone of the Nara clans' heir; his heavy-lidded dark eyes taking in the scene before him, his dark brown hair pulled up to the top of his head in a ponytail. His heavy-set friend stood behind as they both had just walked into the classroom. "Somehow I get the feeling that it has something to with our friend Gaara here." He jerked his head in the direction of the red-haired, turquoise eyed, Kazekage who stood beside Cyrus and was within hearing distance.

Gaara glanced over at Shikamaru as he heard what the lazy teen said. "What do you mean? Why would I be the cause of this?" Gaara said in his usual emotionless voice.

Shikamaru glanced at him from the corner of his eyes; "You really are oblivious to girls' feelings." It was more of a statement then a question.

"Again I ask: What do you mean?" Gaara asked, his trademark death glare making its way into his eyes. And it was directed towards the lazy, loose-mouthed adolescent, much to the others relief.

"Well it seems that our resident bookworm has a cr-Oof," Shikamaru never got to finish sentence, as said bookworm came barreling at him when she heard he almost revealed her feelings for the red-head. Sherry landed a perfect roundhouse kick to Shikamaru's cheek, sending him flying back out into the hall and crashing into the lockers.

Antaria shook her head in disgust, "Serves him right." She walked over to the desk passing a slack-jawed Naruto, "Be happy that wasn't you, Blondie." She patted him on the head before taking her seat.

"Holy… shit," Naruto let out the sigh of relief of no longer being the target of Sherry's wrath. He quickly ran over to his seat, apologizing to the pale-eyed Hyuuga heiress as he passed, also avoiding the scathing glare of her older cousin, who happened to have the same first period class as her.

Sherry turned back to look at the occupants of the room, and found herself the center of their attention, Gaara's as well. Gaara looked as if he had an imaginary eyebrow raised up in question. She only ignored them all and took her seat in between Antaria and Cyrus. And just in time too as the teacher took it upon himself to grace his students with his presence.

Their teacher had his brown hair up in ponytail and his black eyes had a stern look in them as he glared at the student who yet to take their seats. The most defining feature of their teacher was the scar running across the bridge of his nose.

"Hey Iruka-sensei," Naruto yelled in greeting, some of his fellow students wincing at the volume. He was suddenly hit in the back of the head by a math textbook. He looked behind him to see a pink-haired girl who had a grumpy expression on her face. "Ouch! What was that for, Sakura-chan?"

"Can it, Naruto-baka!" Sakura Haruno exclaimed in irritancy.

Antaria giggled, "Naruto-baka…" She repeated under her breath, Sherry and Cyrus chuckling along with her. The raven haired girl suddenly stopped laughing when she noticed a particular female staring at her with eerily glowing emerald green eyes. Her barely shoulder length dark brown hair framed her face and her side swept bangs fell into her left eye. "Ojōsama…"

Emerald Kimana turned away from her protector and felt an unpleasant blush forming on her cheeks at the sight of Naruto. She didn't know why, but every time she saw the blonde ninja or heard his voice, her cheeks were always turning red. Antaria smiled when she saw the blush on her Ojōsama's face when she caught sight of the blonde ninja.

"Now why don't we begin," Iruka-sensei began the lesson for today, Naruto and Antaria instantly fell asleep 5 minutes into class. Sherry laughed silently, 'Just like always.' "Oh and Shikamaru: get back into the classroom. _NOW_."

Lunch

"Skippin' lunch again, Ani?"

Antaria glanced up from her book, _Sins of the Night_ by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Sherry had gotten her into the series, and even though she wouldn't admit it unless she was going to be forced to eat meatloaf, she really liked it. Blushing, she began to fidget in her chair, hastily shutting the book and shoving it into her school bag. Raising an eyebrow, Cyrus sat down in the seat across from her at the small library table.

"I-I already ate, Cy." Antaria said softly, her cheeks turning red, and she noticed his were too.

"Did Sherry invite you to spend Christmas with her as well?" Cyrus asked, trying to make conversation.

She sweatdropped, "I'm kinda her best friend, Cyrus. I think she'd invite me."

Cyrus blushed in embarrassment to be made to look like a fool, "S-Sorry. Um… so… how was your morning?"

"G-Good. I managed to stay awake through all of my classes this time." Antaria weakly laughed, feeling really awkward and nervous. 'Geez, Antaria, get a grip. Why is it you can't suddenly talk to Cyrus?'

'I need to calm down. I need to try and not act like a moron.' Cyrus thought, blinking while staring at Antaria, who stared back. 'Dang it! Why can't I not talk to Antaria like I used to? What changed?'

"So… yeah… I… um…" Cyrus racked his brain to find something to talk about. Anything. "What book were you reading?"

She fidgeted in her seat, her face descending to a deep red. "Um… y-you wouldn't like it…"

He began to ruffle his side spikey locks, "What makes you say that?"

"Sherry's the one who got me into the series…"

"Oh…" His lips formed an 'o' before he smiled, "Lemme see it anyway."

"Okay… don't say I didn't warn you…"

Elsewhere, in the Cafeteria

"Sher-chan over here!!" Naruto yelled from his seat at their usual table. The few people at their table so far winced at the high volume of the blonde's voice.

Sherry sighed as she took her usual seat beside the Naruto, "Naruto, I'm pretty sure I can find the place I've been sitting at for the past five months without having you to shout at me across the lunchroom."

Naruto grinned sheepishly, "Sorry, Sher."

A flash of white suddenly caught Sherry's attention from across the room. A boy with ankle-length white hair with a pair of white wolf ears on top of his head in place of ears and amber eyes stood talking to Sakura. The two seem to be having a heated argument over something.

Sherry sighed in irritation, "Oni and Sakura are fighting again."

Kiba, a boy with short spiky brown hair and slit-like pupil brown eyes, asked in disbelief, "_Again_? But they were just fighting yesterday!!"

"Yeah we know," Shikamaru drawled lazily. He had his head down on the table trying to take a nap.

Oni slipped in beside Sherry with his tray of food, an angry scowl on his face. "Hey guys," the wolf-boy growled, his fangs bared in a snarl. His clawed hands gripped his silver ware in a harsh grip.

Sherry shot a concerned look to her childhood friend. "Is everything alright, Oni?"

Oni shoveled some of his spaghetti into his mouth, " Fine."

"She thought you were cheating with me again, didn't she," Sherry said in a deadpanned voice.

"Yep," Oni answered in a glum tone. The two childhood friends hung their heads sadly.

"When will she ever learn." Sherry sighed in irritation. He looked back up to see two of her friends looking for seats. " Hey Naruto, look its Emerald and Rei." Naruto's head shot up from his bowl of ramen. The two girls had stopped in front a table close enough to theirs that they could hear what was said. Those sitting at Naruto's table weren't happy at what they heard next.

"Sorry, Ayunami, but you and your cousin can't sit here." Said a boy at the table the two girls had stopped at. He had a mean look to him.

Rei Ayunami, Emerald's cousin and best friend, glared in rage. Her eyes were a dark leaf brown, her shoulder length layered hair light blue and her own side-swept bangs fell into her eye. Pointed ears stuck out from under her locks. Shyly standing behind the Elvin girl was Emerald.

"Why not?" Naruto glared too, before he patted the empty seats on the other side of him. "You can sit next to me, Emerald-chan! You too, Rei-chan!" Emerald blushed, getting nudged by Rei, before she took her seat. Sherry raised an eyebrow of surprise to see the dark brunette fidgeting in her seat.

"Thanks, Naruto-kun." Rei said happily, glaring at the other table that had not welcomed them.

"Y-Yes, thank you, N-Naruto." whispered Emerald; not looking directly into his startling blue eyes. She pulled a strand of her dark locks behind her slightly pointed ears.

Library

"You gonna miss your family?" Antaria whispered suddenly.

"Actually, to tell you the truth, I'd rather be with you guys than be with my nine crazy sisters, psychotic mother, and girl-crazy father." Cyrus smiled at her. "What about you?"

"It's just my dad… I think he's not even gonna be home though. So… I'm fine staying with Sherry. I was gonna have to stay by myself and I'd rather not go through that again. Last time I was home alone for longer than a day, I read every single book in my house fifty times each."

She began to tap her fingers against the table, her eyes traveling to her lap, and away from Cyrus' dark purple gaze. She loved his eyes. In fact, Antaria loved a lot about Cyrus. His accent, his brains, his humor, his sensitivity, his smile, his laugh, his personality, himself… Antaria jumped slightly. She didn't want to admit that. Because if she admitted to herself that she had feelings for Cyrus, what would stop her from admitting it to Sherry, or someone else? Antaria didn't want to have her heart broken.

"You okay, Ani?" Cyrus whispered, suddenly seeing a flicker of fear in her dark forest green orbs. He reached across the table and took her hand comfortingly. "What's wrong? You can tell me."

Antaria's lower lip quivered, "It's nothing."

Cyrus leaned across the table, tilting her chin, and forcing her to look him in the eyes. She blushed a bright red and she began to tremble slightly. He leaned a bit closer, his lips only a few inches away from her own.

"You can always talk to me about _anything_, Antaria. _Anything_." He whispered softly.

Having been scared of girls most of his seventeen years, Cyrus had never been so close to one before. Sometimes he always wondered what it'd be like to kiss a girl. Just once.

'Go for it!' a voice inside him cheered. 'Just lean in and kiss her…' Cyrus was about to do so when the bell rang. Mentally letting out a curse, the barely shorter boy watched as Antaria quickly gathered her books, trying to force away her cursed blush. 'Bad timing. Very, very, very bad timing!'

Cafeteria

Sherry had just finished part of her lunch when she heard the sound of laughter and sobbing. Whirling around, she spotted a girl with shoulder-blade length straight raven hair. Her parted bangs fell to her chin and the left part was braided. The braid itself was dyed an amethyst. The girl had tears pouring from green eyes, which were such a unique shade they seemed like ice, as she ran out of the cafeteria.

"That was Tyler!" Rei and Emerald exclaimed in unison.

Naruto and Sherry both looked over to see a boy barely taller than Tyler leap to his feet. His brown hair fell a little past his ears and was straight. Bangs fell into a pair of surprisingly warm brown eyes. It was Cameron Nelson. One of the few American students at Konoha.

"Tyler!" He shouted, taking off after the sobbing adolescent.

"Wonder what happened now…" Sherry whispered curiously, just as the bell rang. Rei and Emerald seemed to have disappeared in thin air as Naruto and herself headed down the corridor towards the Library. They passed a corridor and saw Tyler crying hard into Cameron's shoulder as he held her comfortingly. "Poor girl… She's having a hard time adjusting…"

Tyler Calvin was a transfer student that had run into Sherry, Antaria, Naruto, and Cyrus a few times. She was extremely nice, unless her temper was up, but anti-social and always seemed to be alone and most of the bullies target. Cameron had recently become her first real friend a few days before. Sherry had invited them as well to come and spend Christmas with her.

Naruto nodded in agreement before heading towards the library. Antaria and Cyrus met up with Sherry outside in the hallway with Naruto, "What's wrong with you two?" Naruto asked, "Ani-chan looks as if she just spent an hour looking like a tomato, and Cy-kun looks like something was interrupted."

"Nothing!" Both said in unison; avoiding each others eyes.

"Off to class." Sherry said cheerfully.

Antaria let out a groan, "Not class!" They began to head towards their next class. Antaria glancing at Cyrus every so often. She soon lost herself in her thoughts, 'What was about to happen? It looked like he was gonna… he was gonna… gonna kiss me!!' She slapped herself mentally, 'Don't be a baka. Cyrus would never want to kiss you… No matter how much you want to kiss him…'

Cyrus sighed suddenly clutching his textbook at his side. Sherry and Naruto were walking a little bit farther ahead than the two unusually quiet adolescents. Sherry glancing over her shoulder every so often as they headed for their classroom. Antaria, despite the fact she was a year younger than the rest, had been put in their grade due to the fact she was incredibly smart… yet incredibly lazy. The work was too easy for her and they had transferred her into Sherry's grade, yet she still managed to make C pluses in all of her classes.

"I need to talk to Ani." Cyrus said suddenly, stopping short. He glared at Naruto before sending a pleading glance towards Sherry. "Alone."

Naruto cringed at the glare. Cyrus angry was… rare… but terrifying nonetheless. Antaria blinked in surprise, before Naruto and Sherry were suddenly gone, leaving Cyrus and her alone in the nearly deserted corridors. Everyone else was already in class by the time the bell rang. They were both late, but that didn't seem to matter at the moment.

"W-What is it, Cy?" Antaria asked, attempting to keep her voice steady.

"Antaria, you're my best friend and yet I still find myself wondering…" Cyrus trailed off as he looked into her eyes. Blushing furiously, the silver haired youth was suddenly tongue-tied. "Uh… um…"

She raised an eyebrow, "Wondering what?"

He gulped, "J-Just meet me after school!" Cyrus cried out, before he took off running down the corridors, leaving a slightly confused girl behind.

After School

"See ya later, Ani!" Sherry called, waving, as she and Naruto headed in the opposite direction.

Having recently moved to Konoha, Antaria was still trying to remember her routes to get to the small apartment that her father and she lived in. She rubbed her hands together, trying to warm them through her amethyst gloves, and she began to rock on her feet, attempting to de-frost her partially frozen toes. She finally spotted Cyrus walking with Leo Dubrinsky, his oldest best friend since childhood. Cyrus and Antaria had only known each other since she moved to Konoha at the beginning of the year.

"Bye, Leo! See you then!" Cyrus called, waving to him, before he approached Antaria. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Ani, Leo needed my help with something, plus he saved me from those cursed fangirls."

Antaria weakly smiled through her chattering teeth, "T-That's quite alright, Cyrus."

Cyrus suddenly looked very worried, "You're freezing!?" He immediately took his scarf, and put it around Antaria's shoulders, before he hugged her. "Let's get you home."

"I-I'm fine! R-Really!" She protested, as Cyrus began to steer her down the cold snow-covered street.

"This is so my fault. Please forgive me!" He kept on saying, completely ignoring her protests.

The soon reached the Miyazaki Residence. Leaving their snow-covered boots at the door, Antaria and Cyrus walked inside the quaint hallway, hanging their coats, scarves, gloves, and toboggans on the rack. She ran a hand through her slightly bushy raven hair, attempting to detangle it, as she walked towards the living room with Cyrus trailing behind her.

"Daddy? Are you home?" Antaria called. She frowned when silence met her ears. "I guess he's working late tonight…"

Cyrus let out a mushroom breath of relief. He loved Antaria's dad and everything but it was a habit to get nervous around Ryo Miyazaki. Especially when he started teasing them about how they were gonna end up dating sooner or later. Which after what happened in the library, Cyrus was starting to lean in that direction already.

"You said you were gonna be home alone during break?" Cyrus questioned. "Why?"

"Daddy has a business trip and has to go out-of-town. That's why I'm going with Sherry." explained the raven haired girl; she started to head into the kitchen. "You want some cocoa?"

Cyrus smiled, "That sounds good. You need help?"

He followed her into the kitchen and slid onto the stool, propping his head up with his hand, and watching Antaria working in the kitchen. He loved to watch her work. She may be a klutz most of the time, but some things she did gracefully. Cyrus could spend hours watching Antaria work. Or just watching her. He jumped when she suddenly turned and looked at him.

"You're staring at me. Stop it. It's creeping me out severely." She teased.

"S-Sorry!" Cyrus tore his dark purple eyes away from her, and looked down, while blushing a violent pink.

Antaria set down a mug of hot cocoa in front of him, "Here you go, sweetie. We both need it after battling that weather!" She giggled, sitting on the stool on the other side of the counter. "I hate it when it gets really cold and icy outside. I like it when it's light snow."

His eyes landed on hers as he drank his cocoa. They were such a dark shade of green, like the color of a forest, and were filled with an inner warmth and innocence that made his blush get even hotter. Her raven hair caught the light, turning it violet for a second, and it fell elegantly over her chest and down her back, stopping at her elbows. Her bangs were hiding most of her face, but Cyrus had seen it enough times to know each and every delicate feature. He had never really noticed how pretty Antaria really was until now.

"Cyrus? Are you alright?" She whispered suddenly.

"Yes." Cyrus answered quickly. Too quickly. Antaria gave him a knowing look and he sighed. "No…"

Antaria reached across the counter, taking his hand in her own, and giving it a small squeeze. "What's wrong? Did you have a bad afternoon or something?" She smiled, proud of herself. 'Atta girl! Just keep on talking to him like you normally would! Don't think about the crush… don't think about the crush… DANG IT! YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THE CRUSH!!'

Cyrus began to awkwardly fidget on the stool, "R-Remember how I asked you to meet me after school?"

"Yeah…" She said slowly.

"I want to ask you something…" He confessed quietly.

"Go on." Antaria prompted.

"What do you think about whenever you think of me?" Cyrus let out in one breath.

"You, obviously." teased the younger girl.

Cyrus gave her a look, "Ani. Be serious here."

Antaria put down her cocoa and looked down at the half-filled mug. He watched her thumbs brushing over the porcelain as she thought long and hard about her response.

She looked at him, "I think of how much happier I am whenever I'm with you. I think of all the times you've been there for me and all the times you've protected me. I think of how much I want to see you laugh and smile. I think of how much I want to… to…" trailing off, Antaria bit her lower lip in embarrassment.

"To what? How much you want to, what?" He prompted; his curiosity getting the best of him.

"How much I want to be the one girl that makes all of your troubles and pains go away…"

Cyrus blinked, suddenly having her hugging him tightly, her face buried in the shoulder of his shirt, and warm tears sinking through it. Cyrus embraced Antaria back, rubbing her back soothingly, and closing his eyes.

"You already do that, Antaria…" whispered Cyrus, pulling away from her, and cupping her face, his thumbs brushing away the warm tears spilling from the corners of her eyes. She sniffled, trying to swallow the lump in her throat, and she gently gripped his shirt. "You're the only girl I'm truly not scared of. Sherry scares me _a lot_. Heck, even Hinata scares me!" She let out a weak laugh at that. Brushing her bangs out of her eyes, Cyrus smiled. "Hey, Ani?"

"Y-Yes?"

"If I wanted to do something… unexpected… would you let me?"

Antaria blinked a few times, "What kind of question is th-"

She was suddenly cut off by someone's lips brushing against her own in a small kiss. Cyrus pulled away for a second, his eyes opening simultaneously with Antaria's, and he saw the blush trying to creep to her face. The kiss had surprised them both. Closing his eyes again, Cyrus pressed his lips against Antaria's once more, only longer this time. He felt her hands traveling up his chest and to his shoulders while he moved his own to her waist.

'Wait! Pause! Rewind! Am I really kissing _Cyrus_ in my kitchen? What the hell? Since when do my dreams become reality? Does this mean if I dream about getting a lynx, Daddy will get me a lynx? YAY! LYNX!' Antaria stopped thinking and mentally sweatdropped. 'Yup. The sugar in the cocoa's getting to me. Definitely need to stop having any sugar.'

'Wow… I never knew kissing someone felt so nice…' Cyrus smiled through the kiss.

"Ani? You home already?" a voice caused both adolescents to fly apart, Antaria knocking her empty mug to the floor, and it shattering. Sweatdropping, Sakura appeared looking slightly confused. "Please don't tell me you broke something else."

Antaria quickly cleaned up the broken mug and stood up straight, looking flustered, and her face beet red. Cyrus was awkwardly coughing and keeping his attention focused on the floor. Sakura looked at them, a suspicious look in her mint green eyes, before she shrugged it away and entered the kitchen.

"Anyways, I brought you back your notebook. Thanks for letting me borrow it." Sakura continued, before she slowly glanced around the small kitchen. "I'll see you at school, okay?"

"'Kay." Antaria nodded curtly, receiving her dark purple notebook, and she watched Sakura turn and leave. "Bye, Sakura-chan."

"Later."

Once the pink haired girl was gone, Cyrus finally looked at Antaria, "I-I better get going. Bye, Ani." He was about to leave when Antaria suddenly stopped him. "What?"

Antaria whispered the one thing that would leave anyone hurt, "That kiss never existed, Cy. Not a soul will ever know. I don't even know about it. Goodbye." And with a pain-filled stare, the raven haired girl rushed upstairs and into her room, leaving Cyrus standing there… confused and hurt.

**_ Fin _**

**DQ17: Please read and review!!**

**SF4E: Next Chapter will be up soon.**

**ETP: Promise**


	2. Chapter II: Forgive Me

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto; Kishimoto does. If I did… so much yaoi. BUT SADLY I DO NOT! I do own my OCs, however, my friends owning theirs. Please Review. Thanks for doing so on the last chappie!**

**Once Upon A December**

**Chapter 2: Forgive Me**

The next day when Antaria walked into her math class she saw that Cyrus' seat was empty. It was strange to see since the silver-haired boy was usually there first. Sherry entered the classroom next, gazing at the empty seat as well, and raising an eyebrow. She approached her best friend slowly.

"Ani, what's up?"

"Oh, Sher, hi." Ani brushed a strand of raven hair behind her ear, jumping.

Sherry glanced at the empty seat again as their classmates started filing in, "Where's Cyrus?"

Antaria blushed at the sound of his name, "I'm not sure…" She whispered.

Abruptly, they heard squealing coming from Sakura and Ino, "HE'S AS HOT AS SASUKE-KUN!"

Turning their heads, Antaria and Sherry gaped as Cyrus stepped into the classroom, only his hair was now as straight as pins, and was hanging in his eyes. He was gazing sorrowfully at his shoes as he walked down the row, his hands in his pockets, and he silently slid into his seat. His dark purple gaze never drifted from the desk.

"Cy? What's wrong?" Sherry asked, concerned immediately, leaning on the side of the desk, and inspecting his straight hair, "Where'd your spikes go?"

Cyrus glanced at her slowly, Sherry feeling unexpected warmth flood her cheeks, especially since his look reminded her so much of Gaara just then.

'_Holy fudge! Is he emo now? Dang it, why does Cy look so hot emo too? It's just not right! Crap! Ani's gonna kill me if she realizes what I'm thinking!'_ the bookworm's hazel eyes slowly shifted in Antaria's direction, taking in the sight of Antaria sitting in her seat with her hands in her lap, and sighing deeply. '_Now what's wrong with __**her**__?'_

"Settle down!" Iruka-sensei exclaimed, entering the classroom.

Sherry scrambled into her seat, watching as Hinata tripped, and was steadied by Dustin. Blushing, the Hyuuga Heiress quickly muttered a thank you, and slid in her seat, hiding her face with her hair. Naruto suddenly realized someone was watching him, and noticed Emerald squeak, blush, and quickly divert her gaze toward Iruka-sensei, who was calling role.

"Wahlburg?"

Iruka-sensei jolted when Cyrus lifted a hand slowly, him taking in the boy's new appearance with shock, and he hastily continued on, worry flickering in his eyes. Sakura and Ino were now sighing over both Sasuke and Cyrus, hearts floating aimlessly around their heads, and their cheeks were dusted with pink blushes.

"Alright, turn to page 212, and begin working on problems 10-34, even."

The sound of opening textbooks, notebooks being withdrawn from bags, friends borrowing paper and pencils, and chairs scooting filled the room as Iruka-sensei went to sit down at his desk. Cyrus moved his pen across the page, but he wasn't working on the problems. Sherry moved to look, seeing a dark poem written entirely in Greek, and Cyrus was drawing black roses and thorns around the poem, his head in his hand.

Sherry chewed on the inside of her cheek, '_Cyrus fears girls… the only ones he's close to are Ani and me. That means that something must've happened yesterday between them…_' Hazel eyes pierced through Antaria, '_Woman, you better hope you didn't do anything stupid, or I'm gonna beat you to an inch within your life!'_

Antaria shuddered, having the feeling that someone was glaring scathingly in her direction, and peered out of the corner of her eye to see it was Sherry of all people doing so. A small squeak of fright escaped the girl, before she quickly looked back to her work, which was halfway correct and halfway wrong.

Sherry sighed before looking around the classroom, twirling a brown curl with her pen, and she paused when she noticed the unexpected sight of Gaara watching her from his seat in the back underneath the window. Her entire face flamed, especially when Temari smirked, and waved. Seconds later, a note appeared in front of Sherry, from said Sand Ninja, and Sherry gulped before opening it.

_Hey Sher-chan,_

_Just to let you know Gaara, Kankuro, and I will be joining you over Christmas Break! Can't wait!_

_LYLAS,_

_Temari-chan_

Sherry smiled, gave a curt nod, and Temari grinned. Iruka-sensei looked up, frowning slightly, and he indicated toward Cyrus.

"Wahlburg-san, please come up here." 

Cyrus shifted his eyes in Iruka-sensei's direction, sighed softly, and stood up. He walked up to the head of the class, Ino swooning when he walked by, and he approached Iruka-sensei's desk.

"Cyrus, is something wrong?" Iruka-sensei asked in a low voice.

Cyrus didn't respond.

"I'm worried, please, come to me if you need to talk." 

Cyrus just stared at Iruka-sensei with saddened eyes. For a split second, they were on Antaria, before they were back on Iruka-sensei. In that one fleeting moment, Iruka-sensei, Oni, and Sherry knew what was happening. Oni's gold orbs locked on Antaria, who felt tears prickling the corners of her eyes, and Sherry made a face.

"Cyrus, I'm excusing you from classes the rest of the day. Please, go to the library, and stay with Shizune-sensei until school ends." Iruka-sensei proceeded to write out a Library Permit, and handed it to Cyrus.

Cyrus walked back to his desk, grabbed his bag, and sent another fleeting agonized look at Antaria. Her chest became tight, her throat burning, and she watched him walk out the door.

"Is Antaria-san alright?" Rock Lee asked, concerned.

Her breathing was shallow now, realization sinking in her, and the tears had started to cascade. Sherry reached out, touched Antaria's shoulder, looking worried.

"Ani, are you okay?"

Antaria leapt to her feet, running out of the classroom.

"ANTARIA!" Iruka-sensei and Sherry shouted after her.

Sherry groaned and face-palmed, "Great… just great…"

Library

Cyrus settled himself at a back table, watching the snow falling outside, and his heart ached with every beat. He gazed down at the words he had written.

I don't know what I said

_I don't know what I did_

_I didn't mean to cause this confusion_

_But now I'm breaking_

_My heart is shattered_

_I can barely breathe_

_I can barely think_

_My screams are going unheard_

_I'm breaking_

_Save me, please_

_Why have you turned away?  
All I wanted was to love you_

_To cherish and hold you_

_You were made for me_

_Somehow, I'll make you see_

_Until then_

_I'll wait in the darkness_

_Barely breathing_

_Barely here…_

_My existence is nearing its end_

_All because I don't know what I said_

_And I don't know what I did_

_I can't breathe…_

Sighing, Cyrus bit his lip, and started to shake as he tried to suppress a sob. His chest ached as he fought the tears threatening to fall. He felt cold, empty, and all he could think of were those painful words that had fallen from Antaria's lips.

"_S'agapo_, Ani… why can't you accept that?"

Empty Classroom

"What have I done?" Antaria sobbed into her knees, hugging them tightly to her chest, as she sat underneath the desk of an empty classroom. "Oh God, what have I done to my sweet Cyrus? Why did I do that?" 

She knew why. She had been afraid, afraid that Zeus and the other gods would step in, and wrench them away because she was the descendant of the Forgotten Goddess, Antaria's namesake. Cyrus was the grandson of Poseidon; he was destined to marry a descendent of Aphrodite, or even Artemis, the one who had cursed the Forgotten Goddess' children.

They could never be…

The Fates were cruel, to taunt Antaria, their own niece. They didn't like the fact that they were the half-sisters of the Forgotten Goddess.

Antaria climbed out from her hiding place, perched herself on the windowsill, and gazed out the window and down into the windows of the library. She could see Cyrus, gazing out the window at the snow, his eyes filled with agony and sorrow.

A/N: Disclaimer: I don't own "Forgive Me" by Evanescence.

"'_Can you forgive me again? I don't know what I said, but I didn't mean to hurt you. I heard the words come out, I felt that I would die, it hurt so much to hurt you…_'" Antaria sang softly.

Cyrus glanced up just then and spotted her.

"'_Then you look at me, you're not shouting anymore, you're silently broken. I'd give anything now to kill those words for you. Each time I say something I regret I cry, "I don't want to lose you." But somehow I know that you will never leave me…_'"

Antaria pressed her hand against the glass, smiling slowly,_ "'Cause you were made for me, somehow I'll make you see how happy you make me. I can't live this life without you by my side. I need you to survive… So stay with me, you look in my eyes, and I'm screaming inside that I'm sorry.'"_

She closed her eyes,_ "'And you forgive me again; you're my one true friend, and I never meant to hurt you…_'"

Lunch

"Here,"

Sherry dropped a bag of pretzels in front of Cyrus, who slowly looked up to meet her eyes. Her heart clenched at the deep sadness that reflected in the deep purple shade.

"You need to eat somethin',"

Cyrus glanced at the bag, ignoring it. Sherry sat down in the chair across from him, giving him a classic Sherry death glare. Cyrus finally reached across the table slowly, opened the bag, pulled out one pretzel, and placed it in his mouth. Sherry gave a small grin of satisfaction before leaning against the table on her elbows.

"Mind tellin' your onēchan what went down between Ani and you?" Sherry said quietly, "No offense, but I prefer you lookin' adorable than hot. It gives me the creeps seeing you as a hot emo guy since you're my otoko."

Cyrus merely gazed at her.

"Spill, fool, or I'm gonna beat you like I did Naruto yesterday morning." Sherry threatened.

Cyrus looked down and spoke, his voice deadpan, "I think… Ani rejected me yesterday…"

Sherry looked ready to go hunt down her best friend, beat her black and blue, and string her up by her toes.

"I-I… k-kissed her… and then she said… 'That kiss never existed, Cy. Not a soul will ever know. I don't even know about it. Goodbye.'… We've _never_ said goodbye, Sherry. It's always a 'see ya!' or 'later!' but never a goodbye…" 

"I'm so sorry, Cy…"

Cyrus went back to inking in the roses on the poem he had written, "It doesn't matter… I knew I should've just given up the moment I realized I was in love with her."

"Maybe Ani's just scared, y'know? She did have a lot of bad experiences because of your guys' relatives growing up. A lot of the other gods and goddesses _hate_ the Forgotten Goddess." 

Cyrus didn't respond. Sherry let out another aggravated sigh.

"She ran out of the room sobbing shortly after you left class this morning."

He froze, eyes wide, and he gazed out the window up to the Math Department.

"You saw her, didn't you?" 

Cyrus didn't reply other than his lips parting, trembling slightly.

Sherry rubbed her temples, "I'm gonna beat that girl…" She glared at him, "Eat, darn it!" 

Cyrus popped another pretzel in his mouth rather reluctantly. Twitching, Sherry grabbed Cyrus by the front of his shirt, and raised a fist.

"If this bag ain't empty within the next minute, I'm gonna beat you into next year, boy!" 

Gulping, Cyrus was released, and he hastily grabbed the bag, and started to eat. Sherry leaned back, gazing at the ceiling, and heard the bell ring. She stood up, glancing down at Cyrus.

"I'm going back to class. I hope things work out between you two fast, 'cause neither one of ya are bailing out on the Christmas Break trip. Understand?"

Cyrus gave a small nod, Sherry turning on her heel, and heading out the door. She emerged out of the library, and froze in mid-step when a familiar tone of voice reached her ears.

"Your concern for him is rare…"

Squeaking, Sherry turned to see Gaara leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, and his piercing eyes were on her.

'_Holy fudge?! GAARA'S TALKING TO ME?!_'

Gaara moved to stand beside Sherry, gazing down those many inches and into her hazel eyes, which were wide and flickering with several emotions he couldn't identify. Her cheeks were flushed in a pretty blush, something he had grown accustomed to when it came to the shy bookworm, who seemed to be embarrassed quite easily. He somehow found he _liked_ Sherry blushing, because it radiated her face, and heightened her features. Slowly, Gaara spoke once more.

"I am not used to seeing friends as close as you are to Wahlburg. Your love for him is… motherly." Sherry raised an eyebrow at the sound of the word coming from Gaara. "Why?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why are you so motherly toward him?"

Sherry's gaze went to her boots, "Because Cyrus grew up lonely and in fear of all women in his life. He needed someone who wouldn't scare him yet still love and care for him. He needed a gentlewoman's touch in his life. That's why, Gaara-san."

Gaara's gaze shifted to Cyrus through the glass doors, then to the deserted corridor. The shrill bell rang, signaling they were both late to class, but neither moved to walk away.

"… You have a innocent heart…"

Sherry blinked as Gaara whispered those words and turned to walk away.

"Don't let anyone darken it…"

Gaara disappeared down the corridor. Blushing and her heart thumping lethally within her breast, Sherry looked back at Cyrus, who was now reading a book, before she headed out the doors and to her class.

Art Class

Naruto made a face at Sherry's absence as he started to doodle in his sketchbook. He could hear the laughter of Rei down the table, and he glanced at her out of the corner of his startling blue eyes to see her drawing random hybrids and showing them to Dustin, Hinata, Emerald, and Kiba. Dustin was finding the drawings quite amusing and was showing Hinata which animals made each one.

"Sakura, for the last time, there is _nothing_ between Sherry and me!" Oni whined from the table over.

"Yeah, Forehead-Girl. I doubt you'd have to worry about Bookworm stealing your man." Ino snickered. "Tho' she _is_ way prettier than you."

Sakura had stress marks form, "Wanna die, Ino-Pig? You _know_ I can kick your sorry blond ass."

Oni groaned and said, "Look, for the last time, Sherry Jackson is my childhood friend and nothing more. I hate to say this, but the thought of Sherry in any other sense besides my best friend makes me wanna hurl. Stop being jealous, Sakura."

Sakura blinked a few times before she exhaled slowly.

"Alright, fine, I'll let up."

Oni hugged her, "Thank you…" 

Sakura blushed and quickly kissed him on the cheek before going back to her sketchbook. A loud commotion caused them to turn and see Emerald on the ground, several people laughing and sneering as she clutched her arm in pain. Naruto didn't understand why, but the overwhelming desire to beat the living hell out of every single person who was laughing at Emerald swept over him. He leapt to his feet, and was suddenly beside her, gently pulling her to her feet, and sending scathing death glares at each person who was laughing. Their sneers disappeared and they fell silent.

"Come sit by me, Emerald-chan." Naruto said quietly, leading her gently to the empty stool next to his, and helping her sit down.

"We should have someone look at your shoulder." Sakura said, leaning from her table, and exposing Emerald's shoulder gently.

She began to gently probe the wound. Emerald sucked in her breath as pain pulsed down her entire arm. The skin was already turning a dark shade of purple.

"Who did this to you?" Rei and Kiba both growled, looking ready to break hell loose.

"I'm not sure…" Emerald whimpered. "But it hurts…"

Sherry entered the classroom just then, raising an eyebrow at the sight of their sensei absent, and she saw Emerald sitting in her seat. Walking over to the half-elf's vacant stool, she slid in it, and winced as she saw the bruise on Emerald's shoulder.

"Are you alright? Who did this to you?" Sherry whispered in concern.

"It was one of them…" Rei grumbled, indicating to the group with her head.

Sherry looked around warily, slipped out of her seat, and moved over to Emerald's side. Naruto blocked everyone's view as Sherry lightly pressed the bruise with her middle and index finger. A second later, the bruise turned yellow, and then it was gone. Emerald smiled in thanks, slyly showed Rei and Dustin that she was okay now, and pulled her sleeve back down. Sherry retreated back to the other stool.

"Where were you?" Naruto demanded. "You had me worried, Sher-chan."

"Sorry… got hung up outside of the library." the bookworm responded.

"By who?" demanded the blond, eyes narrowed dangerously.

Sherry blushed bright red and Naruto knew the answer.

Gaara.

"What'd he want?" Naruto lowered his voice to a hiss.

"He… He told me that I have an innocent heart… and not to let anyone darken it…" 

"Weird."

"I kinda thought so too…" Sherry bit her lip, "Has anyone seen Ani?"

"Not since this morning when she ran out. I know Iruka-sensei and Pervy Sage spent their planning periods looking for her."

"You don't think she skipped school do you?"

"I have no idea…"

Sherry sighed and closed her eyes. "I wish things were right again… I wish things weren't so confusing… why does love do this to people?"

Emerald blinked and suddenly said, "Love makes us do irrational things…" Her faintly glowing emerald green eyes met Naruto's, "I find myself doing them everyday…"

Naruto felt himself blush, not really getting the hint Emerald had just dropped, and he went back to doodling.

Everything was quiet until Rei suddenly shouted, "STAY AWAY FROM MY BOOBS, KIBA!!!!!! THEY ARE NOT FOR YOU TO PLAY WITH, YOU DOG!!!!!!"

Library

Cyrus felt a slight sliver of warmth as he noticed the air around him change. A new aura had entered the area, and he knew immediately who it was before he saw them. The scent of black cherries suddenly surrounded him as arms wrapped around his torso tightly.

"Ani…" Cyrus breathed her name, closed his eyes, and savored her touch.

"Forgive me, love… please forgive me…" Antaria replied, tightening her embrace.

Cyrus turned sideways in the chair and in her arms, his eyes staring at her with nothing but forgiveness within them.

"Forgiven… a thousand times over…" Cyrus whispered.

Antaria felt his fingertips caressing her cheek, cupping it tenderly, before the gentle feeling of his perfect lips were covering her own. Antaria kissed Cyrus back with everything she could, feeling so much guilt and happiness at the same time. Cyrus pulled back and wiped away her tears.

"_S'agapo_, Antaria…" He whispered tenderly.

"Aishiteru-mo, Cyrus…" Antaria replied.

Cyrus wrapped his arms around her.

"I won't ever let you go…"

"Don't… don't let me go ever…"

_After School_

Sherry peered around the faces going on the trip to her family's cabin. Several were eyeing her in complete and utter fear. She placed her hands on her hips.

"Alright ya'll, make sure you're in front of my house at 6 am sharp! You late and I'll leave your hides behind!!"

"Sher-chan, what's with the accent?" Naruto (stupidly) asked.

"I'm from Montana, fool! Shut it or die!"

Naruto zipped his lip.

"Bright and early! I'll have the car list tomorrow! No complaints or switchin' either!"

Several paled at the thought of Sherry being the one to decide who was with whom in a car for several hours. Grumbling they all turned to leave, and get ready for their Christmas adventure with the Jacksons'.

_6 am; Sherry's House_

"I'm freezing my ass off… what's taking them so long?" Naruto grumbled, shivering, and trying to warm his exposed toes.

"Idiot, you're the one wearing the sandals." Sherry replied shortly.

She gazed at the groups waiting in front of their cars. Neji was talking with Hinata, Dustin, Shino, and Kiba. Temari was trying to stop Sasuke from murdering Naruto with Rei and Gaara standing aimlessly behind her. Their friend Kai was standing beside them, snow in his silver hair with black tips, and grey eyes narrowed at Sasuke. Sherry smiled at herself for ending up with Gaara in the same car. Elijah, her elder gay brother, was taking Oni, Arkana, Cyrus, Leo, and Sakura. Tenten had the joy of Ino, Emerald, Naruto, and Antaria (who was sobbing because she wasn't with her hobbit). Zane, Sherry's father, had Rock Lee, Tyler, and Choji along with Ronan and Nicky-J, his sons. Itachi, Sasori, Deidara, Kisame, Pein, and Tobi would be arriving Sunday. They were waiting for Kankuro's car, which consisted of Shikamaru, Cam, Kamon, and Kiyoshi.

"Sherry, I am so pissed at you…" Antaria grumbled.

"Suck it up and deal."

"You just want me to suffer!!"

"…That I do. This is punishment for what you did to Cy yesterday. He looked like Kadaj!!"

"… You're right!!" Ino and Sakura shouted.

Just then Kankuro's car pulled up. Several sent scathingly glares as they all piled out. Cam ruffled his dark blond hair before cowering in fear. Kamon, with his neon orange spiky hair, and orange-brown eyes, grinned at them all and went "yo!". Standing beside him was his freakishly tall companion, Kiyoshi, who had shaggy black hair and ice blue eyes. Poor Shikamaru was barely awake as he leaned on the side of the car.

Kankuro barely had time to speak before he was being beamed with a skillet by Sherry.

_**WHAM!!**_

"YOU BAKA! I TOLD YOU 6 AM SHARP! IT'S 3 AFTER!"

"But you didn't leave me behind like you said you – HOLY SHIT!!" Kankuro ducked as Sherry brought out another skillet and swung.

"SHUT YOUR FACE!!"

Sherry proceeded to chase him, Kankuro cackling as he ran around the cars, screaming, "YOU LIKE ME! YOU KNOW IT!"

Sherry fumed, "DIE!!" She swung, missing Kankuro, and sending Rock Lee flying into the side of the house.

"… Your youthfulness inspires me, Sherry-sama! But it hurts a lot!" Rock Lee collapsed.

"… Ow…" Leo and Cyrus winced.

Zane spoke, "Settle down, now. We need to get on the road. Into your cars. Make sure your cells are charged! Don't wantcha to break down and get eaten by a bear or anything like that!"

Nicky-J piped up with, "Like a bunny!"

"Shut it, stupid." Ronan growled, elbowing him hard.

"INTO YOUR CARS NOW!" Sherry roared.

They all scrambled into seats, buckling in. Sasuke and Gaara claimed the back of their car. Cyrus ended up having to sit in Leo's lap, however, in Elijah's car. They then set off!

**To Be Continued…**

**A/N: An update. I know, shocking, isn't it? Please review. Flames will be returned with fiery force. Hope you enjoyed the craziness!**

**DQ17**


	3. Chapter III: The Trip of Hell

A/N: To be safe and so some crazy flamer fan doesn't yell at me for whatever, there is OOCness in this chapter. I'm sorry. I'll try to keep them in character the next and final chapter.

_Temari's Car_

For the last hour and a half (according to Sasuke) the sounds of techno could be heard and felt. Rei, Sherry, Temari, and Kai were jamming to BassHunter, which Rei had brought with her. In the back of the car Sasuke and Gaara were attempting to drown out the bass of the Swedish DJ by listening to screamo on Gaara's iPod.

"BassHunter is the shit!" Temari and Kai exclaimed as they sang the lyrics.

Rei merely continued to dance beside Sherry, who was glancing back at the two silent ninjas of the car. Sasuke was brooding, cursing Naruto's name under his breath, while Gaara was impassively staring into space, trying not to claw out his ears. Shaking her head, Sherry went back to singing along with Rei.

_Elijah's Car_

Elijah was casually driving down the road behind Temari when all of a sudden he found Arkana sitting up front beside him. Twitching and jolting, he turned in complete shock, and Arkana gave a grin.

"Hi!"

"Uh… hi?"

"So, how's life?"

"Nojima, quit trying to find out my personal life, you pervert. Go stalk some random female that isn't my sister."

Arkana shut his mouth and turned around to see Sakura hugging Oni affectionately. Cyrus was seated sideways in Leo's lap, leaning against the window, and muttering to himself in Greek about Sherry and cursing her. Leo was mindlessly playing with Cyrus' spikes.

"I kind of miss the straight hair. It was a good look on you, Cy." Leo commented.

Cyrus glanced at him, "Uh, thanks?"

Oni glanced at him with his gold eyes, "You looked like Kadaj…"

"So I'm told." Cyrus replied.

"Hey, Cyrus, are you together with Ani yet?" Elijah inquired abruptly.

"… Who told you and why…?"

"Sherry. For me to torture your poor soul."

Cyrus groaned, "Ani, save me!"

A startled cry from Arkana got the car's attention. Suddenly, Antaria was sitting in Arkana's place, tears of happiness falling down her face like a waterfall.

"THANK YOU, AUNTIE!"

She turned and saw Cyrus in Leo's lap.

"… Oh lord, Elijah what have you done?"

_Tenten's Car_

Ino suddenly screamed bloody murder the moment Arkana appeared where Antaria had been only seconds before. The last thing she had recalled when it came to the raven-haired girl was that she had been praying to the Forgotten Goddess to save her from the blondness of Tenten's vehicle. Arkana rubbed the side of his head and squeezed his other hand, opening his eyes to see a horrified Ino with his hand on her breast. He was in heaven… at least for a second before Ino kicked him into the backseat with Naruto and Emerald.

"Hey, no roughhousing or else I'm calling Sherry-san!" Tenten threatened.

Ino glared at her, "I was just groped! Don't you dare try that! I had my rights as a violated beautiful woman to attack the perve!"

Arkana merely whimpered, "Ow… I think she made it impossible for me to have children…" 

Naruto made a face of disgust before knocking Arkana out of Emerald and Naruto's laps and hard onto the floor. They immediately put their feet on his back, forcing him to remain there. Grinning, Naruto put an arm around Emerald, and gave her a quick hug, which left a dark red blush on her cheeks.

"Achoo!"

Naruto sneezed and rubbed his nose.

"Weird… I have a feeling that someone is planning my impending doom…"

Little did he know Sasuke was doing just that…

Along with plotting the murder of the Swedish DJ Sherry was torturing him with.

_Kankuro's Car_

Shikamaru sighed heavily as he leaned his head against the back window, staring aimlessly outside at all the cows. "What a drag. Can't you guys be quiet for the four hours it takes to get there."

"C'mon man, have some fun with us!" Kankuro said as he steered with one hand on the wheel. Cam was sitting beside him on his cell phone texting Tyler and coaxing her from committing suicide in the other car.

Kamon suddenly leaned forward, "Yo, Cam, what's up with your girlfriend?"

Cam blushed and hissed, "She isn't my girlfriend! Rock Lee's tormenting her!"

Kiyoshi face-palmed, "Poor, poor child…"

"That she is, that she is," Kankuro commented as he chuckled lightly. "So if you like her why not just ask her out?"

Cam's blush darkened even more. "Because it isn't like that between us… she's my best friend. Besides, I gave up on girls. Girls bring chaos in my life, and that's one thing I can do without."

Shikamaru lolled his head around to meet Cam's eyes in the rearview mirror. "So you're gay?"

"NO WAY IN HELL! I AM NOT LIKE ELIJAH! I LIKE GIRLS BUT I DON'T DATE THEM!"

"… Gay." Kamon and Kiyoshi snickered.

Cam whirled around, unbuckled his seat belt, and lunged with his teeth bared.

_Neji's Car_

Neji sweatdropped as he attempted to get Hinata's attention, but it remained on the mysterious and random Dustin Kazehito no matter what he did. Shino was quietly in the back, watching the cows go by, and was deep in his own thoughts. Kiba was bored and was attempting to peer down Hinata's v-neck sweater and catch a glimpse of her breasts. Since Rei wasn't around to torment, this was the closest thing to amusement he could find…

That, and Hinata had a nice rack, in his opinion.

"Kiba, I advise you advert your gaze _now_…" Neji viciously growled.

Kiba quickly did as he was told… wisely too.

_Zane's Car_

Ronan sat in the very back, blasting Mayday Parade in his ears. However, no matter how high the volume was, he could still hear every itchy, scratchy sound of Choji eating chips…

IT WAS DRIVING HIM INSANE!

That, and it was abusing his ears.

Tyler was stuck in the middle between Nicky-J, the enthusiastic Dragonball Z fanatic kid brother of Sherry, and Rock Lee, who was talking a million miles per minute about Gai-sensei. She was hunched over, furiously texting Cam, and debating about either throwing herself or Rock Lee out the window. Still the two males continued to talk and Choji's chewing was starting to buzz within her mind.

"Shoot… me… please… someone…" she groaned, beating her forehead into her knees. "Please! If there is a God, SAVE ME!"

"Rest stop!" Zane sang suddenly, before pulling a can of pop out of the cooler occupying the front seat.

Tyler and Ronan both lunged forward, "THANK YOU GOD!" Ronan screamed while Tyler shouted, "THERE IS A GOD!"

_Rest Stop_

Sherry blinked rapidly as a sea of people surrounded her, several looking murderous in several ways.

"Woman, you better make some changes, or else you're gonna learn the new meaning of the word 'pissed'." Ino growled. "I will not tolerate being molested by Arkana!"

Sherry blinked, "Eh? How'd Arkana end up in your car?"

She turned and saw Ani sliding out of Elijah's.

"HOW DID YOU GET IN THERE?"

"I impersonated a luggage bag."

"Curse you, woman. Curse you."

"MAKE CHANGES NOW!" roared several people, Neji included.

Sherry shook her head before pulling out a series of index cards, "Fine, fine. Here are the new groups."

"WHEN DID YOU MAKE THOSE?"

"On the way here. Elijah kept me posted."

They turned to the curly hared boy, "I heard about the problems from Cam."

"Squirrel-boy?" twitched Sakura.

"Tyler. And I am not a squirrel!"

"Emerald…"

"Rei."

"Hinata."

Elijah spoke up, "I heard it from Ani after she heard it from Hinata."

Kiba whistled, "Weird chain."

"I got connections." Sherry smirked. "Now here's the new groups. Neji, you have Hinata, Dustin, Shino, and now Shikamaru. Pray to God he can finally get some sleep before he goes insane." Shikamaru hugged her before diving for the back of Neji's car with a pillow in hand. He was out like a light. Sherry rolled her eyes before continuing. "Temari, our car's fine." Sasuke hissed and dived behind Emerald making weird yowling noises in protest. "O…kay…. Apparently not. Arkana, we're switching you with Emo Boy." Arkana scooted away from Ino before she could feast upon his organs. "Kankuro, I'm giving you Kiba and Ronan." Ronan looked grateful to escape Choji and his chips. "Elijah, you guys are fine. Yes, even you Ani. But if you ever do that again, I'm taking away your teleportation powers."

"You can't do that."

Sherry glared at her scathingly, "Try me…"

Ani squeaked and took a side-step behind Oni, which made Sakura hiss. She quickly side-stepped the other way behind Leo.

"Tenten, you can have Sasuke now. Are you happy, psycho-kitty?"

Sasuke merely grabbed Emerald's sleeve and growled at anyone who neared them. Naruto made a face of irritancy, not particularly liking the thought of Sasuke hogging the half-elf.

"Daddy, I'm putting Tyler, Cam, Nicky-J, Choji, and Rock Lee with you. Can you handle it?"

"Like the grizzlies."

"Goody! Now pee so we can leave!"

Several blinked before glancing downward, and then bolting for the bathrooms. Emerald went to move, but Sasuke was rooted to the ground, and he refused to move. Turning, she poked him once.

"Sasuke-kun, I have to pee…"

He merely growled.

"… Please don't tell me you're coming with me."

"… I'll close my eyes…"

Emerald sweatdropped and hung her head.

Just what she needed… Sasuke showing his clingy side when she needed to relieve herself.

_On The Road Again_

Emerald was squirming in her seat, Sasuke still clinging to her arm. '_I hate you Sasuke-kun! I really have to pee!'_

Ino was slipping in a cd and suddenly the sounds of Brittany Spears' "Circus". Emerald, Naruto, and Sasuke cringed in the back.

"This is worse than the Swedish DJ…Kill me…" Sasuke groaned, banging his head against the window.

Tenten and Ino were oblivious to the pain of those in the back seat as they began to sing along.

Naruto pulled out his orange iPhone and began texting Sherry, 'SAVE US FROM THE BLONDE POPSTAR HORROR!'

_Temari's Car_

The sounds of Nightwish's "I Wish I Had An Angel" as Sherry pulled her purple Razor out and the text from Naruto. "Weird…Never would have pegged Tenten as a Brittany Spears fan."

Everyone cringed at the Popstars cursed name.

"Lets listen to Nightwish!" Sherry exclaimed whipping out her cd.

"Hells yeah!" Rei and Kai both shouted as they started rocking out to the first track.

'_Thank god. Something not techno.'_ Gaara thought as he continued to stare out at the scenery.

Arkana was pressing his nose against the window, counting cows, when all of a sudden he saw the cutest little bunny hopping beside them.

"AW, LOOK AT THE FLUFFY BUNNY!" Rei shrieked.

They all looked at it.

"It's so cu- OH MY GOD!" Sherry jolted when an eagle suddenly swooped from the heavens and captured the bunny in its extended talons.

Suddenly, no one wanted to look at the scenery anymore.

_Kankuro's Car_

Ronan was happily chilling in the back, listening to Mayday Parade, and texting his girlfriend (who would most likely dump him within the next five minutes, unbeknownst to him), and oblivious to the other four. Kankuro was messing with the radio, while Kiba chatted about the nice racks of some of the girls' on the trip with them. Kamon was snickering while Kiyoshi blushed and gazed out the window just in time to see the bunny's impending doom beside Temari's car.

"WHY DOES EVERYTHING I LOVE DIE?" Kiyoshi wailed suddenly.

Kiba and Kamon turned to him, "… What?"

Kiyoshi sniffled, "Nothing…"

Ronan suddenly let out, "STUPID WOMAN! HOW DARE SHE BREAK-UP WITH ME! I WAS THE BEST BOYFRIEND EVER!"

"Sure you were…" Kamon murmured to himself.

Kankuro grinned as he found a station playing Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend". "Dude, I'm totally gonna sing this to Sherry."

Kiba replied with, "You wanna die by a skillet, be my guest. Just make sure I'm far away when that happens."

_Elijah's Car_

Sakura was playing with the radio as she sat between Elijah, the driver, and Oni in the front seat. Since there were only two seats in the back, Cyrus remained seated in Leo's lap sideways, chatting with Antaria, who was eyeing Leo suspiciously. Leo was merely smiling back at her with his ice blue eyes, and running a hand through his golden brown spiked hair that fell to the nape of his neck. She blushed and twitched when Leo suddenly wrapped an arm around Cyrus' waist.

"What are you doing?" Antaria shrieked.

Leo raised an eyebrow, "Making sure he doesn't fall. There are sharp turns up ahead. Last thing we want is for him to accidentally end up in Sakura's lap."

Cyrus laughed and said, "Relax, Ani. Leo's just looking out for me, like he always does."

Antaria looked at the floor with a glare, '_Seems to me like it's more like he's hitting on you, rather than just looking out for you… What's even worse is it's hot!'_

Sakura let out a squeal as she found one of her favorite songs before tackling Oni in a huggle. He turned purple from the lack of air almost immediately. Elijah was chatting on his Bluetooth cell earpiece to Sasori, who had just left with Itachi, Kisame, Pein, Tobi, and Deidara. Cyrus subconsciously snuggled against Leo to get more comfortable in his lap, Antaria twitching at the happy gleam within Leo's eye. It didn't help that Leo had started to caress Cyrus' light silver spikes once again.

"Ani, what's wrong?" Cyrus asked after seven minutes of her gawking.

It took a few minutes before he picked up the thoughts that his girlfriend was having. She was twitching from them, but as Sherry's best friend, she was also enjoying them. Abruptly, Cyrus started shrieking.

"NO! NO! LEO'S MY BEST FRIEND! NO! NO! QUIT THINKING THAT WAY!"

Leo leaned forward and whispered in Cyrus' ear, "So, Cy, are you going to sleep with me at the cabin?"

"WHAT?"

"Bed-sharing. We all have to. What did you think I meant, Antaria?" Leo chuckled.

Antaria merely collapsed sideways, "I hate you, Leo…"

_Neji's Car_

Hinata was turned around, leaning against the glove compartment, with her legs crossed as she talked to Dustin in the back. Neji was driving, thinking repetitively to himself '_I hate Kiba. I hate Kiba. I hate Kiba._' Shikamaru was still asleep, stretching across Dustin and Shino's laps, with the pillow in Bug-Boy's lap, and Shikamaru's legs stretched across Dustin's. Dustin was picking lint off Shikamaru's pants as he talked to Hinata, who found herself smiling more and more around the hybrid demon.

"So… how much longer?"

"Hour and a half tops."

"I hope that Rock Lee hasn't been thrown out the window yet by Tyler…"

"Knowing her, she'll throw them both out."

"Both?"

"Rock Lee _and_ Choji."

_Zane's Car_

Cam found himself cowering in the back, Tyler hiding her face in his shoulder, and clutching him for dear life in fear of Rock Lee, Choji, and Nicky-J. Nicky-J was now seated up front with his father, but he was annoyingly asking what certain things were, such as potholes and clouds. Rock Lee was going on about Gai-sensei, and talking about how Tyler should try Gai-sensei's training, and he somehow managed to start declaring eternal protection of her, revealing he know had formed an obsession with the Celtic-Japanese girl, which made Cam EXTREMELY ANNOYED.

_Crunch… Chew… Crunch… Chew… CRUNCH!_

And Choji had opened a new bag of chips, tortilla chips this time, and was noisily stuffing his face and torturing the two back occupants of the car.

"Make it stop… make it stop… somebody please make it stop…" Tyler whimpered, clutching Cam tighter.

Cam stroked her hair tenderly, "Shh… it's okay… just a little bit longer…"

Tyler opened her eyes, which sparkled in the light like green ice.

"Thank you…" she breathed, comforted.

Cam pulled out his iPod and handed her an earphone, "Let's listen to some music."

Tyler took the earphone, stuck it in her ear, and was surprised to hear the sounds of Evanescence.

"C-Cam?"

"I downloaded some songs I knew you liked for us to listen to…"

She blushed before resting the side of her head on his shoulder, "You really are sweet…"

He blushed as she closed her eyes. Awkwardly, he wrapped his arms around her petite waist, and closed his own eyes, listening to the soothing words of Amy Lee.

_Finally… The Jackson Family Cabin_

They stepped inside the two story cabin in awe. Trees surrounded the beautiful snowy-covered place. Chairs and other furniture surrounded a large fireplace with a hearth rug in front of it. A bare Christmas tree rested idly against the wall, waiting to be decorated. Naruto let out a low whistle.

"Dang…"

"Alrighty, let's get our stuff in our rooms!" Sherry exclaimed, leading the teenagers up the winding staircase. "Chaperones, aka Daddy, Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei, and Itachi's group will be in the room downstairs."

They arrived on the second landing, seeing a carpeted hallway. There were six doors, two leading to the large spacious bedrooms with several twin-sized beds big enough for two. One door led to the Jackson' family Library, which was Sherry's treasure during Christmas-time; two other doors led to large bathrooms, and the final door led to the attic, which held the decorations.

They headed for the girls' room first, which had a view of the mountain. Sherry pulled out her index cards again and they all groaned, but none said anything, because they knew Sherry would beat them if they protested.

"Alrighty, Temari you're with me." Sherry started out. "Ino, you're with Sakura. Rei, you're sharing with Emerald. Ani, I want you with Tyler. And Hinata, you're with Tenten."

They moved to place their luggage beside the dressers on either side of each bed, the only two grumbling being Sakura and Ino. After they had deposited their belongings, they followed the curly brunette out the door, and into the boys' room.

"Shikamaru, wake up!" Sherry kicked him and he jerked awake from sleeping on Dustin's shoulder. "You're sharing with G-Gaara-san." Sherry blushed as she said her crush's name. "Naruto-kun, you're with Emo Kid." Sasuke merely gripped Emerald's sleeve, and she fidgeted while eyeing the bathroom longingly. "Neji, you're with Rock Lee, who better not even dare think about talking about Gai-sensei, or else he's getting the skillet. Kamon, Kiyoshi, you're together… in more ways than one. Oni, you're with Arkana. Leo, Cyrus. Dustin, you're with my idiot brother… sorry. Shino, can you handle chips, cause you're with Choji. Elijah, I put you with Kai, if that's alright." Sherry paused and glanced at Tyler, who was clinging to Cam. "Ty, sweetie, you're with Ani."

Tyler shook her head, "But I want to be with Cam…"

Cam turned several shades of red while some of the boys whooped, Kiba and Arkana included.

"Uhm… Ty… I think you should just go with Antaria…" Cam coughed awkwardly. "I think I'm with Kiba…"

Kiba snickered, "I wouldn't mind bed sharing. She can stay."

Tyler turned pink and squeaked before diving behind Antaria in fear.

"Okay, so when the college boys arrive… Itachi will be with Kisame, Sasori with Deidara, Pein with Tobi, and Kakashi-sensei with Iruka-sensei. Nicky-J's sharing with Daddy. We're all set."

Several merely gazed at Sherry like she was crazy.

"So who's up for decorating!" Zane exclaimed as he and his sons' carried in several boxes. Everyone just looked at him, "What?"

"I'm putting up the DBZ ornament!" Nicky-J whizzed by and began attacking the Christmas tree with ornaments.

Elijah went to go save the tree from the hyperactive demon-child, Sakura and Ino joining to help him liberate the ornaments. The others slowly began to follow after, each of them grabbing a few ornaments from the boxes and having fun as they bumped and prodded each other to get to spot. The only one's who weren't partaking were Gaara and Shino who stood off to the side as they watched and Shikamaru who had immediately stretched out on the bed to relax for a bit while everyone was distracted.

Everyone laughed talked as they decorated, placing mismatching ornaments onto the tree, the Jackson family having collected different kinds over the years. Some had even been made by the Jackson siblings from when they were in elementary school. Eventually all the ornaments were put on the tree until the only thing missing was the star.

Naruto looked through the boxes trying to find the star, "Hey where's your star?"

Zane smiled, a little misty eyed as Sherry came back in from going up to the attic, "We don't have a star, we're a little bit different ya see. Their momma had always put a very special tree star up there. And its not really a star either."

Sherry sat the box down as she slowly and caringly opened it, "It's an angel." She pulled out a small figure, a pale porcelain woman with lips as red as roses and hair the color of the sun. Deep brown eyes peered from underneath dark eyelashes and the figure was adorned in a pure white dress, frills and lace making a beautiful design. On her back rested a pair of snow white angel wings. "My momma made this shortly before she fell ill and passed away. So in a way she's still with us. She even made it in her image."

Ino and Sakura peered at the doll. "She's so pretty, Sher!"

Sherry beamed happily, "Yes she is." She got up and made her way to the tree and the ladder that Zane had put there for her. She climbed up and placed the ornament on top. "Okay daddy! Turn on the lights!"

Zane did just that. They all gazed at the tree, that warm feeling that one gets at Christmas making its way into their chests. While the tree decorating had been hectic, everyone had, had a lot fun and many of them who had never had a chance to talk had gotten to know each other. Even Tyler had made a few new friends while Cam had grinned stupidly in the corner, happy for his friend.

A sudden clattering from the front door interrupted them appreciating their work, but upon seeing who it was that was coming through the door they all broke into greetings. Elijah hurried over to his boyfriend, Sasori, to help him out of his coat. The two shared a chaste kiss of greeting, the girls cooing at the scene. Sasuke nodded in greeting to his brother. Tobi held up some bags, a delicious smell emanating from them. There were other similar bags in the others hands

"We brought food!" Tobi walked over to the kitchen that was separated from the living room by an island table. He sat the bags down as the others followed him as well as Sherry and Elijah who began opening and putting the food in serving containers.

"You guys head on into the dining room. It's the only place big enough to hold us all." Sherry shooed them away as she pulled down stacks of plates, handing them off to the ones heading into the dining room to place down.

"Yay food!" Emerald and Naruto yelled excitedly, they quickly grabbed a stack of plates and headed straight for the dining room. Everyone laughed, some just smirking in amusement.

As everyone left, Elijah and Sherry turned the late comers. "So how was the trip, just as eventful as ours?"

Kisame chuckled, his face splitting in a grin. "Not really, though Itachi almost killed Tobi on the way here."

Sherry giggled, "Well its good your finally here We have a lot of activities planned for the next few days before Christmas."

Itachi raised an eyebrow, sarcasm dripping from his voice, "Should've known."

Sherry stuck her tongue out at the older Uchiha, "Oh hush, you don't have to if you don't want to. There are plenty of other things you can do."

Everyone laughed good naturedly, all of them teasing Sherry as they made their way to the dining room, serving trays and bowls of food in hand. The next few days were going to be interesting, for everyone.

-TBC-

The next chapter is the last. Sorry for those of you who have been waiting.


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